The Gatekeepers
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: February 1, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
91
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireDavid HughesApr 8, 2013
Insightful, revelatory and profound, Moreh's Oscar-nominated documentary combines riveting interviews, archive footage and - yes - state-of-the-art photographic effects to offer a unique perspective on the Israel-Palestine issue. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaFeb 28, 2013
If vigilance and preemption, recompense and retaliation is not enough, the film asks, then what is? Read full review
100
Boston GlobeTy BurrFeb 28, 2013
It’s about spycraft, but it goes to the source. If for no other reason, it deserves to be seen for arranging decades of events in the Middle East into a chronology that, to an outsider, makes dreadful sense. Read full review
100
Film.comLaremy LegelFeb 26, 2013
There are many films that rail against the inherent injustices of any given power structure. Much rarer are the documentaries like The Gatekeepers which expose that the faithful stewards of a certain foreign policy no longer believe in said policy. This is an important film, showing the constant reaction and counter-reaction of each side. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 21, 2013
This is a great and necessary document in support of a two-state solution. Even those who don't believe in such a solution may find their minds changed by The Gatekeepers. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesOmer M. MozaffarFeb 20, 2013
The Gatekeepers has a cold air to it: washed-out colors, tan ominous soundtrack, eerily floating satellite footage… The most chilling aspect, however, is the blunt commentary about the work itself. Read full review
100
Portland OregonianMarc MohanFeb 16, 2013
For a film that consists largely of a series of talking-head interviews, The Gatekeepers is a riveting a documentary. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumFeb 6, 2013
The film, by seasoned cinematographer Dror Moreh, is a feat — of access and of passionate and appropriately unsettling political commentary. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 31, 2013
The Israeli journalist Dror Moreh has hit a documentarian's trifecta with The Gatekeepers. It's an exemplary piece of enterprise journalism, a vivid history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a polemic that's all the more remarkable for the shared experience of the polemicists. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyDec 20, 2012
This is one hot, provocative, revelatory and astonishing documentary, one sure to provoke enthralled interest and controversy wherever it is shown worldwide. Read full review
100
VarietyJustin ChangDec 20, 2012
While no film from the narrow perspective of Israeli intelligence could purport to offer a thorough view of the conflict, what makes The Gatekeepers ultimately so compelling is its pervasive sense of moral ambiguity. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranNov 26, 2012
A documentary potent enough to alter how you see the world. Read full review
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerFeb 1, 2013
The pessimism pervading this film is summed up by Shalom, who says, speaking of the decades of occupation: "The future is very dark." Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasJan 30, 2013
The six men have different personalities that suggest varying styles of leadership, but what's remarkable about The Gatekeepers is how they speak in one voice about the moral complexities of their former jobs and their extreme pessimism about the future. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 1, 2013
Using the interviews along with news footage and occasional re-enactments, Moreh conducts a kind of primer in the organization’s history, which is, in its own way, a history of modern Israel. It’s fascinating. Read full review
90
Village VoiceMichelle OrangeJan 29, 2013
The existence of The Gatekeepers is its own chief statement. You don't get the sense that it's any easier for these men to question Israel's leadership from the safety of retirement. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonMar 14, 2013
Although The Gatekeepers lacks the stylistic inventiveness of “Fog,” it is nonetheless a compelling account of what can go wrong when power is unrestrained. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 1, 2013
The Gatekeepers cuts deeper than any political thriller. It's a powerhouse. Read full review
88
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJan 30, 2013
Using archival footage, inventive animated recreations of incidents and chilling aerial smart-bomb views of air strikes as they happen, Moreh creates a simple yet elegantly damning film. Read full review
88
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNov 26, 2012
The filmmaker doesn't speculate about why these men are talking, but he leaves you with an excellent guess. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJan 29, 2013
You'll be arguing with your friends about the ethics of secrecy and defense for hours; that's what makes these exit interviews so essential. They come late to the spy game, but are welcome regardless. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJan 28, 2013
The Gatekeepers doesn't play like agitprop. The storytelling is strong, the images stark. The camera roams among multiple monitors showing multiple satellite views while an ambient score works on your nerves. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottNov 26, 2012
If you need reassurance or grounds for optimism about the Middle East, you will not find it here. What you will find is rare, welcome and almost unbearable clarity. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenFeb 28, 2013
As a political testament, the result is revealing and important. Yet as a documentary, it wanders here, there and everywhere – long on intensity but short on focus. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 21, 2013
Until this film, these Shin Bet directors had never consented to an interview. Now that they've spoken - and have said the unexpected - we can only wonder if their words will have an influence. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJohn SemleyNov 26, 2012
Even when the so-called Gatekeepers offer up damning testimony against their organization, there's no real threat that they'll ever be held accountable for it. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNov 29, 2012
A fascinating and informative, if sometimes stodgy, documentary about the most secret wing of Israel's anti-espionage unit. Read full review
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